Case Note & Summary
The judgment involved a set of five company appeals concerning the payment of Common Area Maintenance Charges (CAM) by shop owners of Dreams the Mall Company Ltd. The appeals were filed against an order dated 19.05.2021 passed by the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), Mumbai Bench, which had directed the shopkeepers to pay CAM charges based on their respective areas. The appellants, claiming to be shop owners and shareholders, contested the order, arguing that the direction for payment was inappropriate. However, the Tribunal noted that the order was interlocutory and had lost significance due to the final determination of the company petition, C.P. No. 265/MB/2017, which was decided on merits on 25.06.2026. Consequently, the appeals were deemed infructuous as the issues regarding CAM charges had merged with the final order. The Tribunal also addressed subsequent appeals (No. 250 of 2024 and No. 304 of 2024) challenging a later order regarding the collection of maintenance charges, which were similarly dismissed as infructuous. The Tribunal concluded that the appeals had no effective purpose and thus were dismissed.
Headnote
A) Company Law - Interlocutory Orders - Nature of Orders - Company Appeal (AT) No. 58, 62, 112 of 2021 - The appeals challenged an interlocutory order regarding the payment of Common Area Maintenance Charges, which was deemed to have lost significance following the final decision in the company petition. The Tribunal held that the appeals were rendered infructuous as the issues had merged with the final order in the company petition (Paras 6-7).
Issue of Consideration
Whether the appeals challenging the order regarding Common Area Maintenance Charges were rendered infructuous due to the final determination of the company petition.
Final Decision
The Tribunal dismissed the appeals as infructuous, noting that the issues regarding CAM charges had merged with the final order in the company petition, which was decided on merits on 25.06.2026.
Law Points
- Interlocutory orders
- Common Area Maintenance Charges
- Company petitions
- Jurisdiction of NCLT
